Today we sang this Sacrament hymn “God
Loved Us, So He Sent His Son”, LDS Hymn #187. In the second verse, there is a
curious phrase, referring to the Savior, “…and bowed Himself beneath the
rod.”
He came as man, though Son of God,
And bowed Himself beneath the rod.
He died in holy innocence,
A broken law to recompense. (emphasis added)
To me, these are interesting words
about the Savior’s mortal life – He “bowed Himself beneath the rod”. Subsequently,
with a little research I found some wonderful insights and context. Don’t think
I will ever sing those words again without greater appreciation and admiration
for Him.
In LDS doctrine, we refer to the
“rod of iron” in Lehi’s dream as meaning “the word of God”. And we also speak
of the importance of holding steadfastly on to the iron rod. While holding on
to the rod, our charge is to progress down the path toward “the tree of life”,
our ultimate goal – to God’s love and eternal life with Him. Holding to the rod
means that we are staying close to the Savior, listening to and following His
promptings, making and keeping covenants, shining our light to the world,
serving and ministering like He did, magnifying the priesthood, seeking
righteousness, and trying to be more like Him.
When someone in the Church says, “…hold
to the rod…” we automatically hear the hymn start playing in our heads!
Shepherds use rods and
staffs with their flocks. Is there any correlation to the rod that Lehi saw in
his dream? Let’s look at what scripture says about the Shepherd, the sheep, the
rod, and the staff.
We know from Ps 23:1 that God
[Jesus] is the Shepherd: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
We know that Israel was likened
unto sheep that belonged to God: Ps 79:13, “So we thy people and sheep of thy
pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will show forth thy praise to all
generations.” Ps 95:7, “For He is our God; and we are the people of His
pasture, and the sheep of His hand.” Ps 100:3, “Know ye that the LORD He is
God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and
the sheep of His pasture.”
We know that shepherds carry both
a rod and staff: Ps 23:4, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow
of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff
they comfort me.”
We know that God’s sheep stray: Jer
50:6, “My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go
astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from
mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place.”
We know that Jesus came to be the
Good Shepherd (Jn 10:11), the Great Shepherd (Heb 13:20), and Chief Shepherd (1
Pet 5:4) who would seek and save the lost sheep, Matt 15:24, “[Jesus] answered
and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
We can learn much from the
relationship between the sheep and their shepherd. Sheep are not as dumb as
some suggest. The accusation “dumb as sheep” might have originated in the
1700s, when George Washington declared: “If freedom of speech is taken away,
then dumb and silent we may be led—like sheep to the slaughter.”
Perhaps “dumb” is not a fair
attribute of sheep, but “dependent” certainly is. Sheep are dependent on
their shepherd for direction and protection. They are not independent
creatures, they are not strong, nor are they survivors. They quickly wander
away and can easily be led astray. Without their shepherd’s care, sheep
are in great peril because they are not hunters that can find food, and they
are small and defenseless, making them easy prey for predators. That’s why the
shepherd must keep close watch over his flock to protect and preserve the
flock. So, when a sheep strays, the shepherd will prod them back into the
sheepfold and put wandering sheep back on the right path.
The same is true for God’s sheep.
Jesus, as the Good Shepherd (Jn 10:11, 14) will prod His wandering sheep back
into His fold, to keep them in His protective care—and He will use a “rod” and
a “staff” to direct them to ever abide with Him and to walk in the right
direction on the right path (gently and lovingly encouraging us to hold onto
the iron rod).
The shepherd’s rod and staff are
important tools for working with his animals. In biblical times, a shepherd
consistently used both a rod and a staff to tend the flock. Both were used to
protect the sheep, each in a very specific way.
The rod was used to fight off
wild animals and to count the sheep and direct them. The rod prodded
them during the day in the fields and at night into the sheepfold. A willing
sheep would respond to the prodding, but a stubborn, strong-willed sheep would
not.
While sheep might not be as dumb
as often suggested, they do have characteristics that give some merit to that
claim. They’ll indiscriminately eat just about anything, regardless of whether
it is something that could harm or kill them. They endlessly wander, seemingly
without direction. And many sheep stubbornly resist the shepherd’s prodding. That’s
why the staff, with a crook at the end, is needed. The shepherd uses the
staff to more strongly exert his authority and to gently, but firmly, pull the
sheep back to the fold and keep the sheep moving in the right direction. He can
also use the crook of the staff to pull the sheep from harm.
So, what is the rod and staff that
our Good, Great, and Chief Shepherd uses (Jesus)? I would suggest,
figuratively, it is His Word. The Holy Scriptures, His word through
the Holy Ghost, and His word through prophets, apostles and inspired leaders
can move us, direct us, guide us, and even correct us, to put us back on the
right path and keep us in the sheepfold under the care of our Shepherd.
Therefore, ask yourself, does the
Lord need to use His rod (word) to direct you with gentle prodding? Do you respond?
Or does He need to use His staff to firmly move you against your will? Do you
surrender to His leading or do you stubbornly, and willfully, follow your own
desires?
Whichever one is needed, we must
always remember in Whose hand the rod and staff are held. They are held in the
hand of our Lord Jesus Christ, and He uses both according to His good will to
keep us ever close and guide us on the path to our eternal “sheepfold.” For
that, we should be eternally grateful.
Ezekiel 20:37-38, “And I will cause
you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the
covenant: And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that
transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they
sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know
that I am the LORD.”
Notice that the sheep pass under
the rod. Besides being an instrument of both offense and defense—the rod was,
in effect, a two-foot club—it also functioned as a tool, under which the sheep
passed. What does this mean? First, it means it was used for counting. The
shepherd would count the sheep in his flock to make sure they were all present
and accounted for.
It means something else as well. When
the sheep passed under the rod—a symbol of the Word of God—they would
undergo a close scrutiny. The shepherd would run his rod backward or across the
grain, as it were, of the wool. The rod separated the wool, allowing the
shepherd to look down onto the sheep's skin. He was then able to see both
the quality of the skin and of the wool.
God is illustrating that by means
of His rod, He is giving us careful, close scrutiny for two reasons: One, it
gives Him the opportunity to evaluate the quality of His sheep. And two, it
provides a means of separation. Quality and separation are the two reasons for
His scrutiny of all of His sheep.
Recall Matthew 25 and the
separation of the sheep and the goats. The rod aids in identifying or making
sure of ownership. Sheep's ears were often bored through or distinctively “notched”
as a mark of identification. Sometimes, since the shepherds could not always
see that identifying mark due to several flocks being mixed together in the
pasture, they would make the sheep pass under the rod. When they did,
the shepherd could also flip back the ear to see the mark of ownership. Again,
it also gave them a chance to evaluate and determine the relative health, quality,
and ownership of that sheep. Remember some of the comforting scriptures about
our Shepherd’s concern for His sheep and His paying the ultimate price for us?
·
Ezekiel 16:8, 'When I passed by you again and
looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing
over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered
into a covenant with you, and you became Mine,' says the Lord GOD.”
·
Acts 20:28, “Therefore take heed to yourselves
and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to
shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”
·
1 Corinthians 6:20, “For you were bought at a
price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.”
·
1 Corinthians 7:22-23, “For he who is called in
the Lord while a slave is the Lord's freedman. Likewise he who is called while
free is Christ's slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of
men.”
In mortality, we are all under the
rod. Now is the time of our judgment (I Peter 4:17), and we are under
evaluation to determine to Whom we really belong. Who is our Shepherd? The rod
is a vitally important instrument for a shepherd. No good shepherd would be
without one.
I am grateful for a Good Shepherd
that is concerned for my eternal and temporal welfare.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Isa 28:27 – threshing rod “repentance” – 24 Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground? 25When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place? 26 For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him. 27For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod. 28Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen. 29This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.
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